White & Red Meat

For a very long time, we have been told that white meat was better for us than red meat. Current research indicates that white meat raises cholesterol levels Red equally to red meat. According to an NIH-funded randomized crossover study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers tested the effects of low-saturated-fat diets that drew their protein from red meat (beef and pork), white meat (chicken and turkey), or nonmeat sources (legumes, nuts, grains, and soy products) in 51 participants—all of whom tested each of the three diets separately for four weeks. They then did the same with high-saturated-fat diets, drawing their protein from the same red, white, and nonmeat sources, in 62 participants.

Results of the study: both white and red meat raised LDL (“bad”) cholesterol to the same extent; white meat was not any better than red meat when it comes to heart disease risk.

The non-meat sources did not raise LDL levels.

I have been teaching the value of healthy plant-based eating for many years now; personally and professionally.